


All Things Grow with Love

by BrieBrie53



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Child Neglect, F/F, F/M, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, M/M, Polyamory, Slow Burn, Teenagers, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:53:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 21
Words: 21,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29281770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrieBrie53/pseuds/BrieBrie53
Summary: Hicket Drakeheart moves to a new school after being outed back home in Texas. His family moves to make a fresh start. However he isn't the best of students and the year has just begun and is already failing. In order to keep playing football Hicket's coach informs him he will be attending tutoring in order to get his grades up and stay on the team. There he meets laid back, bad boy Amphitere who is in dire need of tutoring to graduate and their tutor, the very lovely, second of their class, Ci'erce. Will Hicket be able to navigate high school and his keep his sexuality hidden? or will this trio become more than just an after school study session?I'm really bad at summaries but I hope you enjoy either way!
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character, Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. September 15th

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This is a little passion project some friends and I have been writing for almost a year and I finally decided to share it with their permission. This is from my character Hicket's point of view. Also, I tagged it but on Halloween there will be a TW and I will make sure to add a note for those who would want to skip it. It doesn't go into detail but I don't want to upset anyone. While I add chapters I'll keep adding tags so make sure to read them! Without further delay, enjoy!

Hicket sighed softly on his way to the library. He really didn’t want to be here but, as his football coach informed him, if his grades didn’t start showing improvement soon he’d be benched. The ginger boy got a text from his coach saying to meet his new tutor after school and he figured he’d at least try to be early and make a good impression.  
He seemed to be the first to make it there and found an empty table and plopped down, opening his bag to pull out his geometry textbook and homework sheet.  
That’s when he walked in. Hicket didn’t know his name or at least for the moment remember it, but the guys on his team talked about him from time to time. “Are you here for tutoring?” Hicket questioned as the boy drew closer.  
“Yeah, I guess.” he said as he pulled out a seat and made himself comfortable. Hicket stared at the boy who made no movement to even attempt to retrieve anything from his bag.   
“Umm, are you...gonna get your stuff out?”   
The boy just shrugged and started messing around on his phone. Then a noise caught their attention, two people, a plainish nerdy looking boy and a pretty red headed girl were talking outside of the library. It was none of his business anyway so he just started to stare blankly at the paper in front of him not even close to understanding the gibberish on the sheet.   
The library doors opened a few minutes later and the pretty red haired girl came up to their table, Time to try attempt number two at conversation Hicket thought.   
“Hey! Are you our tutor?” She nodded without saying a word so he continued “Great! I’m Hicket Drakeheart, uh, it’s nice to meet you!”   
“I’m Ci’erce.” She sat down and didn’t look up as she flipped through her geometry book. After a moment of silence, she looked over at the dark haired boy. “And your name?” Hicket wanted to know this as well, so with bated breath he waited for the boy's response.   
“Wouldn’t you like to know, sweetheart?” The boy flashed a sharky grin at her before he looked back down at his phone. Oh, ok then.  
“ I already know who you are, everyone does.” I don’t, She sent him a glare before she reached into her own bag and got out a notebook and pencil. “Amphitere, right?” Hicket tried not to be noisy but now he knew this cute boy's name...Amphitere.   
The boy only snorted and shook his head. Then… Silence. He. Hated Silence. To break the weird tension Hicket chimed in with a smile “ Well should we get started?” Ci’erce seemed to agree and pushed her book to the center of the table   
“Do you guys have a starting point? A particular place that you’re struggling?" Hicket really didn’t know where to start, none of it made sense and Amphitere didn’t really seem all that into what they were doing to chime in. Ci’erce just nodded and flipped to the first chapter. “Okay let’s start with the basic concepts, then.”

…

“No, Hicket. It’s the circumference not the diameter.” She seemed to be getting more and more annoyed with Hicket as his progress seemed stunted, as in no progress had been made in the hour since they started. He felt bad, it wasn’t like he wasn’t trying. It just really didn’t make sense at all. Hicket could have almost forgotten Amphitere was there had it not been for the light tap, tap, taping from across the table.  
All he could respond with was “oh, uh, sorry. It’s just that there’s so many different formulas on this sheet.” He scratched his head with the pencil trying to ease the situation hoping to try and play it cool.  
“Why don’t you rearrange the formula sheet in a way that makes sense to you and we’ll try again tomorrow?” She suggested closing the book and giving him a smile that could almost make him blush...almost. Don’t forget about Lily Ann…. She, she smiled like that too, STOP! Hicket shook his head lightly. This place wasn’t home...Ci’erce wasn't… wasn’t her. He focused his thoughts back on the present and was then greeted with Amphitere chewing on his pencil and oh boy, did this boy know how hot that was like for real? Hicket however repressing these thoughts heard Ci’erce say they could leave.   
Just before Amph left the table he turned and grinned at Ci’erce and said “It’s been a real fun time, Princess, I’ll see you tomorrow.” As he gave a small half wave he walked towards the door, then before leaving turned and looked at Hicket, winked and said “I look forward to seeing you again, big boy.”  
OH FUCK, panic rising up in his system, Amphitere can’t know can he? Was he being that obvious? Did Ci’erce know? Shit, shit, shit, I thought I was being careful.   
Then Amphitere just laughed and opened the door but some guy just pushed in, bumping into him. “Sorry, man.” The new boy said. His voice sounded anything but sorry as he walked over to the table where Ci’erce and Hicket still sat. “Hey Ci, are you ready to go?”  
“Yeah I was just finishing up tutoring.” Ci’erce smiled, accepting a kiss on the cheek from the boy. She turned to Hicket and smiled “I’ll see you tomorrow, Hicket. Same time.” He gave her a thumbs up while Amphitere, still standing at the door, shot the boys back full of daggers before he disappeared through the door. The boy looked over to where Amphitere had exited and looked back at Ci’erce yo which she replied “Just a guy I’m tutoring.” Hicket had stopped paying attention a while ago and before he knew it...he was alone. Ci’erce and the boy had left and just let out a loud sigh without anyone to hear. No one can know, he thought… I can’t switch schools again.


	2. September 21st

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kinda a short chapter but I'm gonna try to upload another asap :D

As Hicket was working on his American Lit homework he noticed Amphitere had fallen asleep in front of him, or at least looked asleep, Cute. Then he noticed the doors to the library open and a rather pissed off looking Ci’erce with hands full of books walked over to the table and slammed the books down in front of Amphitere’s sleeping form. Hicket couldn’t help but smile at the cute sleepy face Amphitere gave her, looking like a puppy who got in the trash and didn’t know why he was in trouble.  
“Can I help you, princess?” His grin was sarcastic and strained as she placed her hands on her hips.   
“Yes, actually, you can.” She responded sharply. “You can start by doing some fucking work, because it turns out that I get in trouble when you don’t improve. And I’m not risking my perfect record for you.”  
“You wound me.” Amph threw a dramatic hand over his chest, his chair tipping back dangerously. “I put forth my full effort during every tutoring session.”  
“Zero. Your full effort is zero.”  
“Exactly.” Amph curled his fingers back into mock-guns and wagged them at her. “You just gotta lower your expectations.” Those comments however, did nothing to sooth the unbridled rage that Hicket could feel coming from Ci’erce, so he tried to lighten the mood a little bit.  
“Come on, Amph, it isn’t that bad!” Hicket said cheerfully, marking his page in the book that he was reading before he set it down gently. “Ci’erce even makes it fun sometimes! She promised me a batch of cookies if I pass my American Lit exam on Monday!” The thought of those cookies was enough to study more than he already did. To say Hicket was food motivated was an understatement.   
“Amph, I’m going to make this clear.” Ci’erce planted a hand on the back of his chair, tilting it back just enough that it would send both him and the chair clattering to the floor if she let go. “If you don’t start studying, I’m going right to the tutoring advisor and you’re going to be held back a grade. You wouldn’t want that, would you?”  
“Fine, I’ll read the damn book.” Amph muttered, hand gripping the table with white knuckles as Ci’erce leaned his chair back another fraction of an inch. “Seriously, I’ll read it.”  
With a smug expression, Ci’erce pulled the chair back so that it was on all fours again and slid the assigned reading in front of him. Amph grumbled, but took out his pencil and began to make notes in the margins as he read. Ci’erce and Hicket exchanged a wry smile before losing themselves in their own work. Reminder to self, never piss this little lady off!


	3. September 25th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! another short one but I will have more for you tomorrow :D

Hicket put his car in park in the driveway and let out a sigh of relief and with a big goofy grin plastered all over his face, got out and walked over to his house. He came from a big family and his parents had nine other children however only three still lived there on a regular basis. Just to have room for the whole family, Hickets parents bought a big house on the outside of town on a few acres of land.  
Outside by the front door, a small blonde woman was planting bluebells, she seemed to be hard at work gardening when Hicket approached her.  
“Hi Ma, I’m home from school” She looked up and wiped the sweat off her brow.  
“Hicket sweetheart, you’re home early! Any reason in particular?"  
“Oh no I just, uh, we finished early after Amphitere…” she perked up at the mention of the name of the other boy. “So when are you bringing him home?” Hicket choked on air and the last part of his sentence then looked as though he had been caught off guard. “Uhhhhh, w-what?” She shook her head, stood up and dusted off “Boy all you’ve done since you started tutoring is tell me about this Amph boy. I’m almost starting to think you pay more attention to him than actually studying”  
“MOM!”  
“Am I wrong?  
“....”  
“That’s what I thought, I was born naked, not stupid, boy. You’ve got it written all over your face. So what are you gonna do about it?”  
She walked to the door and motioned for him to enter. They entered the home and made a turn into a big open kitchen where she poured herself and Hicket a glass of cold sweet tea.  
“Well, I did kinda take a first step if that counts?” he replied to her sheepishly.  
She took a sip and waited for him to continue “I asked him and Ci’erce to the movies in a few days… I uh, thought it would be fun for us all to hang outside of school and tutoring. Ci’erce works so hard for us and I wanted to treat her to a good time and just hanging out with Amphitere would be fun.” By the time he finished he was all red, like admitting it out loud to someone made it real. It was real...He was really going out with them, after trying for sometime he finally convinced them to meet him at the movies. His mother, Mactilda Drakeheart, Smiled as she looked upon her boy's face and saw the first genuine smile since they made their big move so far from their home so far away.


	4. September 29th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the totally not a date >:D Also TW small self harm mentioned

Hicket’s alarm on his phone went off and he jolted up with a big smile plastered on his. Today was the day Amph and Ci’erce agreed to meet with him for a movie. His mother and siblings had been pestering him all about it since he told them but they were only curious. Hicket stared into his closet trying to find an outfit but he had one problem… All he had was a plain old sweater clean and his work jeans.   
“Mom do I have any clean clothes downstairs?” He shouted from his door into the hall.  
Mactilda yelled from the bottom of the stairs, “Boy, do I look like a laundry service? I’ve got a few loads in now so you should have asked sooner.” She shook her head and continued “You knew about this date for a few days and you couldn’t have planned it better?”   
A blush appeared on Hickets face as he retorted to his mother “first off, not a date just, uh, uh, uh a outing with a guy I happen to like and… a girl I think is pretty...um pretty cool...and sweet.”  
Another feminine voice joined into the conversation a few doors down. A young woman who looked much like Mac with golden blonde hair popped out in the hall and teased “Oooooh Hicket has it baaaad!”  
“Shut it, Elspet! MOOOOOM!”   
Hicket’s mother only sighed and just looked at her two youngest bickered back and forth before fleeing the war zone.  
Hicket slammed the door on his sister singing K-I-S-S-I-N-G from her room. SISTERS! He just decided that what he had would have to work. Once he put on the ensemble he looked in the mirror and was happy with his look...for the most part. He touched his neck and realized that his leather choker was missing. A slight panic set in as he saw the scar on his neck and searched his room till he found it on the ground next to his bathroom sink.   
He rushed down the stairs, kissed his mother goodbye and hopped into his car and drove into town. It wasn’t a long drive to town but it was long enough that he was running a little behind. He parked not far from the theater but saw them standing by the entrance talking as he pulled up to his spot.   
He ran over to where they were standing and with a big smile on his face said “hey guys! Sorry I’m late!” and waved wildly, the leather cord around his neck dancing as he finally came to a stop in front of them. “Are you guys ready for the movie?”  
“As long as I get popcorn, I’m happy.” Amph shrugged at what Hicket said and Hicket casually threw an arm around his shoulder noting that he tensed up a little when he did. Hicket took a look at them and wow. The words jaw dropping came to mind? Amph had this cool look that really suited him. It brought a light blush to Hickets face. When he looked at Ci’erce she was quite stunning. The outfit couldn’t have been plainer if she tried but on her it looked like it was made of the finest fabrics. Hicket shook his head and then stated they should go inside and get their tickets before they missed the opening credits.   
They settled on a comedy and laughed at all the lame jokes that didn’t seem so lame when he heard his friends laughing . Hicket and Ci’erce stole a ridiculous amount of popcorn from Amph all while whispering comments to Ci’erce. That was when he noticed how close Amph’s hand was to his. They were practically touching and Hicket thanked God that the theater was dark because his face became as red a ripe tomato as he brushed Amph’s hand then slowly intertwined them. Amph didn’t pull away and Hicket side glanced at his face and noted he didn’t seem disgusted or even mad! So he sat back hand in hand and enjoyed the rest of the movie.  
When they finally walked out of the theater, the three of them were no longer just a group that met on weekdays for tutoring but simply three friends enjoying one another’s company. Hicket was over the moon when even after the lights had come on and they walked out of the theater, himself and Amph were still holding hands. They waved goodbye to Ci’erce and Hicket felt like something special had been taken from the moment they all just shared but forgot about it when after he offered Amph a ride home, Amph asked if they could do something else together.   
The next thing Hicket knew, himself and Amphitere were sitting in his car with Amph on Hickets lap as the radio softly played behind them. Hicket had never felt so alive than at this moment and smiled into their kiss and held Amph late into the night.


	5. October 8th

“So this Friday is the homecoming game.,,”   
Hicket stated as he approached the group of studying teens. He looked sheepishly between Amph and Ci’erce. Amph looked up from his own work, headphones blaring music as they dangled around his neck, while Ci’erce was working on some kind of assignment. Micah also glanced up from where he studied, as he had dragged a chair up next to Ci’erce this afternoon. Hicket had almost forgotten he was there if he was honest with himself.   
“Oh yeah, I guess it is.” Ci’erce stated glancing up from her work for a moment to look at Hicket. Hicket cleared his throat and started up again “I was just, ah, wondering if you were going to be coming? I already convinced Amph.” Hicket laughed, his eyes bright and eager. It wasn’t like Amph could have said no...He could have, but Hicket had put some smooth moves on him and by smooth he meant a nice make out session in his car. “Yeah, we have practice that afternoon but I should be able to make it to the game.”   
“Uh, yeah! We’ll be there!” Micah interjected, reaching forward to entwine his hand with Ci’erce’s. Amph’s eyes tracked the motion, lingering for a brief second before he returned to the assignment he’d been working on. Hicket looked over at Micah, “Oh yeah! Of course you’re invited too, Micah.” Ever the welcoming host, Hicket tried to convey an equal amount of warmth towards their new visitor, but it felt out of place. “It’ll be a fun night! There’s a party-”  
“We don’t party.” Micah chuckled, nudging Ci’erce’s shoulder. She shrugged and looked down at her book again. “Oh, sorry...did you want to go to the party? I just thought that you’d be busy with-”  
“No, no, I don’t really want to go.” Ci’erce was quick to assure him, her smile loving and gentle. Amph suddenly slammed his pencil down, brow furrowed. “Um, something wrong Amph?”  
Hicket was a bit startled by the noise but waited for Amph to respond, curious about what had gotten him so upset. “This paragraph doesn’t make sense.” He finally muttered, glaring down at his paper. Hicket noticed that Ci’erce had let go of Micah’s hand and stood to peer over Amph’s shoulder at his paper. Hicket was the only one who noticed the shit-eating grin that Amph shot Micah when Ci’erce wasn’t looking. He chuckled and smiled to himself and sat down to work on more of his homework.


	6. October 10th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some cute family time with the Drakehearts <3

The alarm was blaring in Hickets room as he groaned and cracked open an eye to read on his clock that it was 5 am. He let out a loud groan and rolled out of bed and trudged to his closest to get dressed for chores. Elspet and Gilroy were already up by the time he got down stairs.   
“Good Morning Hicke, Sleep well?” Elspet yawned as she started lacing up her work boots.   
“Yea, I stayed up later than I intended working on some mathhomework. Ci’erce said if I keep doing well she’ll make snacks...” Before Hicket could finish Gilroy snorted and interrupted him “is that all you do Heekay? Think with your stomach? I’m sure if that's the case, mom’s cooking would have made you a straight A student by now” The older boy snickered and stuck his tongue out at the younger boy. Hicket walked over to them to put on and lace up his boots and started to ignore Gilroy. He gave him that nickname as a child when they both had stronger Scottish accents and he just never stopped calling him that.   
Gilroy didn’t care for being ignored so he rubbed his hands together before rearing a palm back and slapping Hicket across the butt as hard as he could without seriously hurting him. Hicket had just finished lacing his boots when the swat was administered and let out a loud yelp. Laughter could be heard as Gilroy made a mad dash for the back door and out to the barn.   
“Come back here Gil!” Hicket hollered as he gave chase to his older brother, leaving Elspet alone in the foyer.   
“Boys” she mumbled while walking after them to start her own chores.   
When he made her way out, the boys were wrestling in the straw with Hicket pinned down, face in the dirt.   
“Say Uncle, Heekay, say Uncle!”   
“Over...my...dead...body” He gasped out trying to break from his hold. Hicket may be on the football team and be skilled at sports but so were his brothers and Gil’s sport of choice was wrestling. Elspet came over and flicked them both in the face leaving them in pain.   
“If you two don’t cut it out we’ll be late for breakfast and Ma and Da will be cross.” she humphed and pulled out a pocket knife to open a bag of feed as Gilroy released Hicket, “Since when did you get so grown up, huh?” He chuckled and ruffled her hair as he walked past to grab the food pails. Hicket rose from the dirt and let out a raspberry as dirt and who knows what else got in his mouth thanks to Gilroy.   
He glared at his brother before grabbing a few harnesses, hooking up the horses and taking them out to the pasture to graze. When he returned the other two had already fed the animals in the barn and had started getting fresh water. He grabbed a wheelbarrow from the other side of the barn and a pitchfork and started cleaning out the stalls and putting down fresh straw for them. With the three of them hard at work it didn’t take long before they finished and headed back inside to get ready for school.   
The siblings took off their boots at the backdoor before entering and then being embraced by the warm smell of pancakes. Hicket smiled as his stomach growled. Mum was making her maple pancakes and she really only made them in the fall. Gilroy was the first to say something, “MA! ARE THOSE PANCAKES YOU'RE MAKING!?” Hicket glares and mumbles under his breath about who only thinks about food now before heading to the stairs.  
Mac yelled from the Kitchen “Boy, I know you aren't yelling at me right now while you’re still smelling like a barn animal.” Gilroy scurried up the stairs after Hicket to avoid their mother's wrath. Once in his room he threw his clothes in the hamper behind the door and saw it was 6:30. Enough time for a shower and breakfast before he needed to pick up Amph for school. He thought of Amph for a moment and smiled a goofy grin before giving a few small slaps to his face. This had become his new routine since moving here...except for the Amphitere part...that's new.   
It didn’t take long for everyone to be ready to start the day and be at the table for breakfast. Mum had made her pancakes and even went the extra mile for eggs, biscuits and bacon with a jug of warm apple cider. As everyone filed in, Elspet was the first back down stairs and had helped Ma set the table. Hicket went into the Kitchen to help bring out the food as Gilroy was coming down the stairs talking to their father about something he wanted to make in the wood shop.   
“Morning Da” Hicket and Elspet said in unison and laughed a bit before sitting down and waiting for Mac to join them. He nodded and a curt “Morin kids, did you thank your mother for this meal?” He waited by Macs chair and the kids looked sheepish as they had not yet. Mac entered the room with the newspaper and set it beside Brodie's chair. “Morning Hunny” She smiled as he leaned down so she could kiss his cheek. Brodie looked out at his kids as they all chimed “Thank you, Ma, for breakfast” they chimed as close as they could.   
“Aw, thank you kids'' as she sat down and Brodie pushed her in and then sat down and made Mactilda a plate before making himself one then opening the paper. Hicket smiled as he made his plate and grabbed a cup of warm cider. This is the life. Surrounded by family with a warm home cooked meal. Mac was used to cooking for a lot of kids so there were always leftovers so Hicked had an idea. “Ma, can I take some of this to Amph? And a thermos for the cider?”. Mac looked a bit surprised and smiled “Of course you may. Tell that boy hello for me dear. You should really bring him around sometime.” She smiled as she loaded up a container of food and cider. He kissed her and waved bye to his Da before heading out the door to pick up Amph with breakfast in tow.


	7. October 12th: Homecoming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm feeling like a double update today. Also I got the chant from the football team from watching videos on youtube. Here is the link
> 
> https://youtu.be/HpsQwLqJDAM 
> 
> start at 3:19 for the chant but all of these were so good! I was ready to play football lol XD. As always enjoy the chapter!

Inside the locker room the boys on the football team were in a huddle, hyping each other up for the game ahead of them. It was one of the big ones, the Homecoming Game. The team captain and senior quarterback was a boy called Besh. Besh was… an ass in Hickets opinion but he was good at leading the team to victory. His methods were… unorthodox at times, almost...con artistish but boy did they work. The boys all suited up stood in a circle swaying back and forth waiting as Besh stood in the middle. In a loud voice Besh started:  
“Alright boys, who's gonna beat the Madrena Angels tonight?!”  
”WE ARE!”   
“Who’s gonna win the Homecoming Game?!”  
“WE ARE!”  
“Are we gonna smash these boys?!”  
Some yeahs, cheers and whistles could be heard amongst the crowd.  
“And then we hit the field like!”  
“Woo!”  
“All day like!”  
“Woo!”  
“All night like!”  
“Woo!”  
“And we ready like!”  
“Woo!”  
“Defence like!”  
“Woo!”  
“Offence like!”  
“Woo!”  
“Smash’em boys like!”  
“Woo!”  
“And we get it like!”  
“Woo!”  
“And my dogs like!”  
“Woo!”  
“And it sound like!”  
“Woo!”  
Then Bash started to bounce and as he did the boys started to bounce with him till they got close around him. He started to chant faster back and forth between “All day like!” and “All night like!” while in between the boys kept wooing louder and louder. Till Besh yelled “Let’s get em boys!” and they lined up to run out to the field.   
Hicket could feel the hype. This chant had been passed on down to all the teams captains he was told for many, many years. He honestly felt like he could take down anyone with the adrenaline he had rushing through him. As soon as they heard the announcer say “Now your Home team, The STALWARTS WIZARDS!” then rushed out breaking the cheerleaders banner and running onto the field. Hicket took a moment to look in the stands searching high and low till he found them. He saw Amph and Ci’erce next to each other and he grinned giving them a big wave before turning back around to join his teammates on the field.   
Hicket was just a lineman but it was an important job and he worked hard for all the muscle that he had. Before long the game was in it’s final quarter. It was tied with five minutes to go and it was the other team’s ball. Besh had come up with a plan to rush the other quarterback and take the ball from them. When the whistle blew the boys lined up as the Madrena Angels quarterback got set up. Then one “hut, hut, hike” and the play started. Hicket rushed forward as did the other lineman and pushed through the others. Soon the Quarterback was surrounded and tackled as Besh intercepted the ball. It was almost like magic as he dodged the other players, all the while screams, chants and cow bells could be heard from the stands as the announcer went “TOUCHDOWN WIZARDS!” The boys got up and helped the other team stand before rushing over and cheering for their victory. The coach walked over giving congrats to the guys and told them to hit the showers and not to party too hard this weekend.   
Hicket looked to the stands trying to see if he could see Amph or Ci’erce but he couldn’t find them...Did they leave? He was a bit disheartened while walking back with the team when as they got to the bleachers he felt someone grab his arm and noticed it was Amph. His whole demeanor changed and before he could get too excited or say anything Amph whispered “Hey, c’mere.” and pulled him under the bleachers away from most of the crowd. Finding his voice Hicket tried to say “What’s up--” but was silenced with a kiss, deep and long before Amph pulled back. “Congrats on the win.” Amphitere smirked and watched as Hicket’s face got red.   
“Can...can we do that again?”  
Amphitere just smirked and closed his eyes and kissed Hicket again, holding a thermos in one hand still while the other kept a blanket around his shoulders. Hicket was in 7th heaven. It was kinda like those chick flicks his mum and sisters would have him watch from time to time. A Hallmark movie moment, if you will. When they broke apart again he took Amph to a more secluded area somewhere under the bleachers. He leaned in and kissed Amph, staying there with him long after everyone else had left.


	8. October 17th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW child abuse mention
> 
> Hey guys! I worked yesterday so I wasn't able to update but on days that I work I can't but the next day I will double upload! :D

“Hicket, he’s probably skipping.” Ci’erce sighed as she flipped through the assignments that Amph had been given for the day. The burly linebacker shot her a disapproving glance at her lack of faith as the pair walked up the sidewalk to a raggedy apartment where Amph apparently lived. Hicket took notice of how it looked and he had heard from his Da that this part of town wasn't the best but that didn't mean he couldn't take care of Ci’erce or himself.   
“He sounded sick over the phone. And even if he’s not, he’ll still need his homework!” Hicket nodded in determination, nodding while reaching forward to hit the buzzer for Amph’s apartment. There was a shuffle over the intercom and then a sharp buzz as the door in front of them unlocked. Ci’erce and Hicket shared a look before slipping inside. “Let’s see...the school said that it’s apartment 7A…”  
“Here.” Ci’erce said, pointing at the chipped paint on the door to their right. They hesitated for only a second before knocking and stepping back. When nobody answered, Hicket reached forward to knock again but yanked his hand back when the door swung back to reveal a short woman wearing only a silk robe that was dangerously close to slipping down her shoulders with every movement she made. Hicket took notice of the woman with a slight blush on his face, slightly averting his eyes. Thankfully Ci’erce was able to find her voice and spoke for them. “Um, we’re here to give Amph his schoolwork?”   
The woman looked like she could barely comprehend what she had said, eyes bleary and unfocused. Ci’erce looked like she was about to ask again when the woman leaned back and looked into the small apartment for a moment.   
“Your friends are here, boy.” Her voice was grating to the ear as she called for Amph, louder than necessary since it seemed to only be a simple two bedroom apartment. She disappeared into the kitchen while Amph stumbled to the door. While Ci’erce and Hicket had seen Amph outside of the school uniform, they hadn’t seen him looking as disheveled as he did at that moment. His sweatpants and tank top were wrinkled and seemed to hang off of his figure, doing little to hide the bruises that peaked out from under the neckline of his outfit. Of course they didn’t compare to the purple swelling that was occurring under his eye.  
“Hey we brought your, ah-” Ci’erce started, seeming unable to finish her sentence. Hicket took in all the marks and he felt...sad? Amph looked like he was in so much pain. “How’d you get those bruises?” Hicket asked softly. He almost wanted to reach out to him but he didn’t want to startle Amphitere. However Amphs face seemed like it was thrown off as he replied with “Uh, it’s nothing. Just got into it with some guy my mom brought home. Thanks for bringing my stuff over.” Amph mumbled, reaching forward to grab the books from Ci’erce’s hands while he tried to shut the door. Ci’erce was quicker and pulled back with the books, her foot jamming itself between the door and the doorframe.   
“So I know you’re sick but, ah, I can still tutor you today. And I made a whole pot of soup last night, so if you come over and study...I can probably spare some.” She shrugged and nudged the door back open with her foot. Amph sighed, looking back into the apartment for a moment as though he was trying to find a semi-nice way to say no. “Hicket’s coming over! So, um, you should also...come over.”  
“I am?” Hicket sent a confused look her way, which she responded with by jabbing her elbow into his ribs. “I mean, yeah! I am!” He didn’t know what she was on about because she only just now invited him over but maybe she had the right idea on how to cheer up Amph.  
Amph stared at the duo with a raised eyebrow, tilting his head back and forth as though he was weighing his options. Eventually he gave in and asked for a moment to grab his things. While waiting outside, Hicket and Ci’erce stood in a tense silence. It was quite again… Hicket took a moment to look at Ci’erce through the corner of his eye. She looked really cute today and it made him happy that she was able to talk Amph into getting out of his house. He wasn't sure how to thank her and for whatever reason it felt like it was easier to talk to Amph than her. Ci’erce felt like she always kept them at arm's length so maybe spending more time together would be good for them. He was about to say something but noticed the door start to jingle. “Ready?” Hicket asked eagerly once Amph emerged with a bag slung over his shoulder. Amph nodded, keeping his head low as they walked back to Hicket’s car and piled in. Hicket sat down in the driver's seat while Amph piled in the back and Ci’erce up front. He started the car and turned to her, “So what’s your address?”  
“Uh...I’ll just give you directions. Head towards main street…”  
….  
“Holy shit! You live here?” Amph exclaimed, at the very least distracted from his troubles for a few seconds as Hicket pulled through the wrought iron gates that were always ajar. Hicket let out a whistle. It was a nice place. His family was quite wealthy but they never really showed it off like this. He supposed they did but it was more in the form of farm aesthetic instead of this city decor...if that made sense? It did in his head at least. Amph though wasn’t quite finished with being in shock. “What in the hell do your parents do? Mafia work?”  
“They’re doctors, Amph.” Ci’erce huffed as she stepped out, withdrawing her keys and trying not to fumble too much as she unlocked the front doors. She gave them a very quick tour of the bottom floor before she led them into the kitchen and began to reheat the pot of soup that she’d made a few days ago. Hicket walked up next to Amph and nudged him a bit while he was waiting for the soup to be ready. He began to describe his and his Da’s favorite western to Amph as he had sent him a text about it earlier that day but Amph hadn’t quite gotten back with him so now was a good time as ever. He began to describe the show and his favorite parts with animated hand motions and a large smile on his face. Amph, bless his soul, looked like he was hung on every word and let Hicket geek out about the show. Every so often Hicket would absentmindedly rub his thumb over Amphs hand or rest his hand on top of his for too long before moving it. He felt very much at home with Ci’erce but...He still didn’t know her all that well...would she be ok with him seeing Amph and him like this? The look on her face seemed to be like she didn’t mind if she caught them...made it would be ok to drop his barriers a little for her. After all she had really given him no reason to not trust her. Dumb ex problems that must be what it was.   
The topic had switched from westerns to who the biggest douche was in school by the time Ci’erce had arrived with two bowls of soup for Amph and Hicket. She joined in while Hicket and Amph both chose different people and presented their arguments to Ci’erce. Amph seemed to have a lot more passion in his debate than Hicket did but Hicket really didn’t know anyone that well yet. Hicket waved goodbye to Ci’erce and lead Amphitere back out to the car while he held onto Hicket’s jacket loosely with one hand and Hicket drove Amphitere back to his mom’s apartment. Hicket noticed Amphitere seemed to hesitate to get out but eventually did. He wasn't sure what to do, he almost asked him to come home with him, it wasn’t like he hadn’t snuck in before. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Amphitere said before Hicket could say anything more on the subject and as Hicket leaned up to kiss his cheek.   
“Promise?” Hicket said, sounding deeply serious.  
Amphitere looked at him with surprise in his eyes. “Uh, yeah, promise.” he then pulled slowly out of Hicket’s hand and grabbed his bag. Waving to Hicket again before walking inside. Hicket let out a sigh and turned on some Dolly Parton. Dolly had always cheered him up and he really couldn’t place why he felt so bent out of shape. He made his way home and quietly headed out to the barn to complete his neglected nightly chores but when he got there a note from Elspet saying that he owed her one and that was enough for him. He slid down against the doors of the barn and curled up into a small ball. Why did he feel so useless?


	9. October 20th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DOUBLE UPDATE!!!

Hicket was rather proud of himself. With Ci’erces help, his grades had been on the rise. He’d actually been enjoying class instead of loathing it. He started making sure to be there a bit early so as soon as Ci’erce arrived they could start. At one point he had thought to find Amph and walk together there but to his surprise Amph must have had a similar idea because Hicket noticed he started showing up earlier to tutoring. He even started participating more and Hicket couldn’t be more proud of him. That day he gave Amph a warm smile as they continued to work on their math homeworks together trying to see if they could get the results on their own before consulting with Ci’erce.  
Ci’erce must have noticed their hard work and chimed into the silence “You guys look like you’re getting a head start. Looks like you won’t need me much longer.”   
Amphitere and Hicket lifted their heads when they heard Ci’erce’s voice. She smiled at Amph before asking “So how’d your exam go last week, Amph?”  
Amphitere smirked at her and boasted he got a C, which was two grades better than he normally did. After a bit more chatting they got back to work, although they didn’t need Ci’erce’s supervision as much this time. Hicket had decided to save the rest of the math for later and try to read the required reading for class tomorrow but it was the dumb Canterbury Tale...WHY COULDN’T THEY HAVE WRITTEN THIS IN MODERN ENGLISH!? He struggled with words when he heard a slight yawn just in time to see Ci’erce give the cutest little yawn, almost like a kitten but more graceful and lady-like. He blushed, shaking the thought from his head. She was way out of his league but boy was she a cutie. He took a quick glance at his phone and saw that it was Thursday and time for tutoring to end. That means another game tomorrow night he thought while starting to pack up his things.. He might as well ask her and see if she’d come and support him.  
“Are you coming to the game tomorrow night?” Hicket asked as they all started packing up their things for the night. Hicket waited with bated breath as Amph seemed to watch curiously as well before she responded with a curt “sorry, I have my case competition tomorrow. But I’ll be cheering for you.'' She gave Hicket a thumbs up he and Amphitere exchanged a glance. They kept packing up and just before they were finished Ci’erce chimed in like she had forgotten to mention it.“I’ll see you guys next week. Oh, and I’d try to find a better place than under the bleachers to make out. People, unfortunately, noticed.”  
Hicket looked like he was about to turn into a tomato. He couldn’t believe they got caught. Did the whole school know...is that why people were glancing at him today? Would he be kicked off the team? Would they run him out of town? Shit, Shit, Shit. Hicket started stuttering like a scratched CD unable to form words properly. He felt too hot...like someone had thrown them into a sauna. Hicket glanced over to Amphitere and he honestly didn’t look much better.   
“I’m not judging you guys at all, no worries.” she smiled and brushed her hair back behind her ear, “I think it’s cute.” Cute? Did...She just say that we were...cute? If it was possible his face got even redder. This girl he and Amph were kinda crushing on said that they were cute. Oh geez. Wait… Did...this make us...official? Do… people think Amph and I are...Dating? If Hicket had the ability to do so he would have hid his head inside his body like a turtle does with his shell. Things couldn’t get any worse so...Hicket might as well do the one thing he and Amph had discussed one till...what could it hurt?  
“Well you, ah-you just...would-if we definitely don’t go and kiss under the bleachers, which we aren’t. Would you not want to meet us where we won’t be and definitely not join in the not kissing?” Hicket spoke faster than he could think and Amphitere slowly turned towards Hicket as he finished while Ci’erce just seemed to stare. “Or...something?”  
Amphitere slapped his forehead loudly with his hand as he listened to Hicket ramble in front of Ci’erce. God he sucked at talking to women.  
Amphitere looked to the ceiling silently while Hicket wait for an answer, which seemed to just go one and one forever. “Did you just...invite me to make out with you guys?” She sounded dumbfounded. “I, uh-I have a boyfriend, so I gotta...pass.”  
Amph let his hand drag down his face as he looked to Ci’erce, as if she made a really bad joke. “Wait so the only problem is that you’re dating Captain Asshat?” Amphitere smirked. Hicket watched the exchange and he silently agreed that that seem to be Ci’erces only true dilemma. “That isn’t...that isn’t what I mean?” She squeaked, sounding like she was asking a question more than giving an answer. To whom she was asking was unclear, Amph, Hicket, or herself. Amphitere’s shark-like grin spread across his face as he watched how flustered she got. Ci’erce then quickly said goodbye and speed walked out of the library while Amphitere and Hicket watched her leave.   
“Well, if Micah’s the only reason, I guess we’ll see how long he’ll hold out.” Amphitere commented, looking to Hicket. “C’mon, let’s go.”


	10. October 26th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I work tommorrow so no update but on Monday I will post two chaps!

“C’mon, come to the party with us, it’ll be super fuuuuuun~” Amph sang to Ci’erce while they stood in the hallway.   
“I dunno… I don’t really have anything to wear.” She seemed a bit fidgety like she was uncomfortable talking to Hicket and Amph outside of tutoring. It was a bit off from their normal schedule. Hicket usually hung around the guys from the team, since they were really the first people he met when he first moved here. They weren’t the most open group of guys but this one guy named Griv was super cool. Amph kinda floated around from what Hicket had noticed and Ci’erce was always with Micah and his friends, though he wasn’t sure why. Micah really didn’t seem like he treated Ci’erce that well but it wasn’t Hickets place...yet… to call him out on it. Amph would do that.   
Hicket was on one side of Ci’erce and Amph on the other kinda cornering her. Amph had told Hicket he had a plan for Halloween so he guessed this was the start of what he had in mind. “You could pass as a sexy schoolgirl. Gimme like an hour with some eyeliner and contour.” Amphitere suggested, Hicket took a moment to imagine it and he thought she’d look cute. His face started to grow a blush and he shook his head. Now wasn’t the time for that. Plus, Hicket wanted to do a themed...theme. What would they do, all be matching sexy school girls? “No, we need to do something matching.” Hicket insisted. Then Amph looked up from Ci’erce and caught Hickets eye giving him one of those wild smirks that sent his head and heart into a tizzy. “You’d look good in a sexy schoolgirl outfit too.” His shit eating grin getting wider as he looked Hicket up and down.   
Hickets blush was more spread across his face and redder and he noticed Ci’erce had one too. Amph looked like he was really getting his money's worth out of the lot of them. Ci’erce was the first to speak up in a hushed tone. “Can you keep your voice down?” as she smacked Amphs chest with one of her folders. Amphiteres smirk dropped when he followed Ci’erces line of gaze, and when Hicket followed it as well he saw Micah. Oh, that made sense. The look Micah shot Hicket and Amph was just about enough to piss him off but blowing his top here in front of everyone wasn’t good on his look. Plus he also didn’t want to get on Ci’erces bad side. Hicket remembered something his mother told his older sisters that if your guy friends have an issue with the guy you like, there’s probably a reason why. Sure, he liked Ci’erce and so did Amph...But Micah just rubbed him the wrong way. He just seemed so…possessive?   
She must have realized that Amph wasn’t going to leave her alone till she gave in and said “Alright, find me a decent costume by Halloween and I’ll go to the party with you guys. And I mean it when I say decent.” Ci’erce pointed at Amph in an accusatory manner because Hicket sure as hell couldn’t think about sexy Ci’erce without blushing let alone what he’d do if he saw her in one. She started walking towards Micah and his friends when Hicket noticed the shit eating grin return to Amphs face when he yelled after her “SAY HI TO GENERAL DOUCHE CANOE FOR US, PRINCESS.” Hicket put his head in his hands and had noticed Amphitere had even cupped his hands for extra effect….good for him...Hicket chuckled to himself wishing he could be as creative as his boy...friend… Oh yea...that was a thing now… Hicket smiled softly thinking about how well that rolled off the tongue. He gave a wave bye to Ci’erce and Micah even though Micah was glaring daggers. Kill them with kindness, Hicket, that's the true way of southern hospitality. He could hear his Ma saying in his ear. Play the good part because when they slip up you’re the one who looks like the bigger person. Hicket then felt a arm around his as Amph started to drag him off in the direction of class. “Cmon, I’ve got some ideas.”


	11. October 26th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter but I'm posting the next one right after this :D

“See? It’s perfect, I told you.” Amphitere said as he walked out of the dressing room wearing a blue low cut shirt, blackvest, and high waisted pants that were rather flattering. The knee-high boots really seemed to complete the outfit and Amph looked really hot in it. “I look like Tulio , you look like Miguel, and Ci’erce definitely has the hips for Chel. It’s perfect.” Ampithere smirked, and did a little spin on his heel while Hicket couldn’t quite help himself as he checked his boyfriend out.   
Amph opened one eye with a smirk and he must have seen how red he was because in typical Amph fashion he put his hands on his knees and said “What’s up, bud? Like something you see?” Hicket tried the sputter out a response but his brain must have short circuited. His face red he was finally able to sputter out “Amph.” he whisper-yelled, moving to cover up Amphitere’s chest with the shirt. “What’s the matter?” Amphitere smirked, wiggling his butt a bit. Hicket really couldn't take Amph anywhere. He chuckled trying not to combust in the store. “I-I-I, y-you, c-can’t, we-we, we are in PUBLIC!” Hicket finally nearly shouted, Amph moving to cover Hicket’s mouth with one hand. “Don’t have a stroke, babe. Or people will definitely know we are in public.” he snickered.  
Hicket covered his face with his hands and Amphitere moved to kiss his cheek. “Hey, wanna help me out of this? It’s a little tight.” he said and Hicket immediately laid down on the bench he had been waiting on.   
“I’ll take that as a no, maybe at the party then?” Amphitere snickered and returned to the dressing room to remove the costume. It was official…his boyfriend was trying to kill him.


	12. October 28th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No chapter tomorrow but double update on Wednesday!!

“No I wanna tell her, I wanna see the look on her face.” Amphitere insisted as Hicket and he chatted about the costumes while waiting for Ci’erce. When Ci’erce came in Hicket noticed Amph look up and he followed his gaze to see a very tired looking Ci’erce. Poor girl looked like she was going to keel over any second. He had noticed the last few days she had seemed to be working really hard. Ci’erce sat down next to them and pulled out her textbooks, only for them to be the wrong textbooks for the day. She seemed defeated as she dropped her head into her hands for a moment before she said “Sorry, it’s been a long day.” she glanced over to Hicket’s paper he had been working on. “I’ll proofread that in a few minutes, just give me a second.”  
“We can cancel tutoring today if you aren’t feeling well.” Hicket said, he really didn’t want her to push herself too far. She just looked miserable. Her shoulders were slumped, her eyes were half lidded, and she looked ready to fall asleep at any moment.   
“No, no. It’s fine, I’ll just supervise you today. Just let me know if you need help.” Ci’erce yawned and pulled out her laptop, leaving Amphitere and Hicket to work on their homework while she focused on whatever was on her screen.   
Hicket was deep into his paper trying to edit it by himself so to lower the work for Ci’erce when he heard Amph in a hushed tone say “Hey, look, she passed out.”  
Hicket looked up and furrowed his brow, reaching over and gently shaking her shoulder. “Just let her sleep, dude. She looks like she needs it. I bet she was up late working on a paper or something.” Amphitere noted and reached over and pulled the laptop gently out from under her head and slid Hicket’s jacket under it.   
“Wanna order some food? I’m hungry.” Amphitere noted and Hicket looked at him, gawking. “Shouldn’t we take her home or something? Or wake her up? What if she has a lot to do?”  
“She always has a lot to do, she’s an AP honors student, relax. She looks like she’ll just pass out again anyways. So, I’m thinking chinese.”  
“...Amphitere do you even have money?”  
“Nope.”  
“So I’m picking it up and I’m paying?”  
“Yup.”  
Hicket and Amph stared at each other, Amph giving Hicket a sarcastic but beaming smile while Hicket looked at him before shrugging. “Alright, fine.”  
Amphitere smiled more, stretching his face as far as it would go. “Thanks, babe. I’ll call it in, I’m gonna order from that one place nearby so it’s not that far.” he said and glanced at Ci’erce. Hicket went back to working on his paper when Amph piped up “And I’m gonna stay here, make sure she doesn’t wake up alone.”  
“Okay, sure. Don’t do anything funny.” Hicket said jokingly.  
“Hey, I don’t do funny things. I do hilarious things and I only do it to people who deserve it.”  
Amphitere ordered chinese food, enough for the three of them, and Hicket left to pick it up. Hicket walked out to his car and luckily the chinese place was just around the corner from the school. It was one of those small mom and pop looking ones but honestly? Those were the best. Hicket went in and paid for the food and left a nice tip for the family and grabbed a few chopsticks. When Hicket returned he was about to walk in but through the glass he could see Amph checking on Ci’erce looking to make sure she was ok. He smiled softly watching the two. After knowing Amph all these months he learned he like to keep a barrier up, but moments like this? He was so soft and it reminded Hicket why he lov--oh...this was new. Hicket blushed and shook his head. His heart beating faster as he opened the door to the library. The two chowed down on Chinese food while they finished their assignments. They got done pretty quickly, Amph just a little sooner than Hicket since he had the extra time to sit there and work. Eventually though, while they were chatting quietly about something of little importance, Hicket heard the jackets shift and Ci’erce sat up.  
“Good morning, sunshine.” Amphitere greeted, giving her a smirk and swallowing a piece of orange chicken. Amphitere looked to Hicket as Ci’erce searched for her phone and motioned towards her with his chopsticks. Hicket pushed a box of chinese food towards her in response.  
“You got food?” Ci’erce sounded confused as ever. “You guys could have just...left, you know. Woken me up? You didn’t have to stay.”  
“Eh, I didn’t have anything better to do.” Amphitere said as he tipped his chair back and balanced his chopsticks on his nose nonchalantly, Hicket nodded in agreement.   
“Yeah, and I needed to finish my paper anyway! So...it wasn’t a big deal.” Hicket beamed, despite the fact that they had been there for hours Hicket had chores and had to take Amph home but his Mum would understand. He’d just be tired in the morning but spending time with Amph and Ci’erce was always worth it.   
“Fuck-shit, fuck.” Ci’erce let out a string of curses that seemed to throw Amphitere off and slightly startled Hicket. Ci’erce never cursed, what happened? Hicket was confused. Did something happen when he left?  
“I’m sorry, I was supposed to meet Micah, like, two hours ago. Shit, he’s going to be pissed. I’ll see you guys tomorrow!” She didn’t even touch the food as she stuffed her things back in her bag and headed out the door.  
Hicket raised an eyebrow at the fact she didn’t at least take the food with her. It felt a bit rude. Granted, she didn’t owe Hicket or Amph anything but she just completely blew them off. He looked at Amph and he seemed a bit more hurt by her rused exit. “C’mon, we should go home too.” Hicket said gently as he reached out and put a hand on Amphitere’s wrist. Amphitere pulled back reflexively and grabbed his jacket, pulling it back on. “Yeah, okay.” he said and gave Hicket a small smile. Fuck Micah. Pompous Asshole. Amphitere was jolted out of his thoughts when Hicket grabbed his shoulder. “Amphitere?”  
Amphitere looked to Hicket, caught off guard and surprised. “What?”  
“I said, are you ready to go?”  
“Oh, um, yeah.” Amphitere said, packing up all the food and Hicket noticed he hesitated before grabbing Ci’erce’s. Hicket let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Why were feeling so complicated?


	13. October 30th: Amphs Birthday

Hickets morning started off like normal. Wake up, do chores and have breakfast, nothing super out of the ordinary. However it was a bit different because his Da was coming home! His da did a lot of traveling for his family's business. So when his father was home it was always nice. His Ma and siblings were cleaning the house so when his father came home they could just spend time together without having to do too much.   
Outside the house, Brodie, Hickets father, pulled into the driveway and exited his car to see a blackhaired young man on his doorstep. He had many children but this certainly wasn’t one of them. He walked up quietly to the stranger and in a deep rumble asked “Who are you?” the poor boy jumped at the voice and turned around, one headphone hanging out of his ear while the other one stayed in. He moved to quickly pull them both out.  
“Uh, is Hicket home?” the boy asked, shifting under the Brodie's gaze. He must be this Amphitere boy Hicket mentioned...interesting.  
“I just wanted to know if he could hang out.” he added. He said nothing and walked forward, leaning over presumingly Amphitere and reached forward and opened the door and walked past him.  
Amphitere just stood in the doorway, Brodie motioned for him to enter, he was never one for many words. Mac usually did that for him.   
“Wipe your shoes.” He rumbled before going into the kitchen.  
Hicket was sitting at the table with his mother cleaning silverware when he looked up to see his father and an even bigger surprise to see Amph.  
“Oh, who’s this?” Mac asked, overly chipper.   
“Amph!” Hicket said excitedly, standing up and crossing the room and hugging him tightly. “What are you doing here?” he asked, grinning ear to ear.  
“Oh, is this Amphitere? The one you keep telling me about?” Mac said, standing up from her chair.  
“Ma.” Hicket pleaded, Hicket could have burst into flames. Why did she have to out him like that? Amph seemed to pick up on the embarrassment Hicket was feeling and came forward and said “Nice to meet you, ma’am. Um, can Hicket hang out today?” he asked while scratching his neck.   
“Sure, hun, you two go have fun.” she said, “Would you like something to eat? I just made breakfast.”  
“No thanks, I ate on the way here.” Amphitere said, throwing up his hands.   
“Oh at least take something to go, you’re so thin.” she said and grabbed a tupperware container and started filling it up, she couldn’t let the poor boy go hungry. “Now don’t worry about returning them, just give them back to Hicket when you’re done.” she said.  
“Oh, um, thanks.” Amphitere said, Hicket noticed a bit of a blush forming on his face and he looked so cute. Hicket noticed Amph seemed to be struggling under all the attention so Hicket grabbed him by the arm and waved bye to his ma and da and ran out the door to his car and started driving off.  
“Sorry.” Amphitere said once they were alone. “I didn’t mean to just um, show up.” Hicket chuckled softly when Amph started to apologize. Honestly he was starting to get used to Amph showing up unexpectedly and kinda looked forward to it. He felt like a lot of his day was the same in and out and Amph always knew how to spice it up.   
“Oh don’t worry about it, so what do you wanna do?” Hicket said excitedly.  
“Uh...can we go to the mall? It’s been a while since I’ve been there.” he admitted and Hicket nodded. “Sure thing! So...you play guitar?” he motioned to the acoustic in the back.  
“Oh, uh, yeah. A little.” Amphitere shrugged.   
“Will you play for me sometime?” Hicket asked, beaming at Amphitere. He loved music and knowing Amph could play was awesome. Maybe he could teach him at some point?  
“Sure, maybe.” Amphitere shrugged.

“How much for a piercing?” Amphitere asked the Claire’s employee, as she gave him a strange look at the question before replying. “Uh, well it depends on how many you get, and mostly on the type of metal the earring is made out of. The ones with real diamonds and pure metal are going to be around a hundred or more, while the nickel ones are closer to sixty or eighty.”  
Hicket stood next to Amphitere looking at the squishable toys at the front desk while Amphitere spoke with the employee. He asked a few more questions about the difference in metals and such then Amphitere sat in the chair with Hicket standing next to him. Hicket was kinda nervous, even though he had a tattoo, needles still freaked him out a bit and he wasn’t even getting any piercings. “Relax, it’ll be over really quickly.” Amphitere told Hicket, who was biting his nails. “I know but, what if the gun goes off on accident?”  
“Hicket I’m pretty sure it literally can’t.”  
After about five minutes, Amphitere got his ears pierced with two diamond studs. He got a care kit and paid while Hicket stared at him. “What, do you not like it?” Amphitere asked, moving his hand to hide the piercing as they walked, feeling Hicket staring at him.  
“No, it’s just different. Good different.” God, how could he make himself even more handsome?  
Amphitere gave him a small smile and looked over the receipt, Hicket glanced at it as well. “Hey wait, did you tell them it’s your birthday? Amph you shouldn’t lie for a discount, that’s immoral.”  
“Yeah, maybe it would be, but I didn’t lie.” Amphitere said and Hicket stopped, causing Amph to stop and turn to him as well.  
“Wait, is it really your birthday?” he gawked at Amphitere.  
“Yeah…” Amphitere said, twirling the earring in one hand, twisting it in his ear. “...why?”  
“AMPH WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY!” Hicket yelled in the middle of the mall, causing a few people to stare.  
“Keep it down! It’s not a big deal.” Amphitere said, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling Hicket along. “Yes it is! It’s your birthday, how old are you?”  
“Sixteen.”  
“That’s a huge one! We should celebrate!”  
“I don’t really celebrate, Hicket.”  
“What? Why not?”   
Amphitere stopped and sighed, feeling Hicket staring at him. “Amph?”  
“I’ve never really….celebrated my birthday before.” Amphitere said quietly, pulling the hood of his jacket up. Amphitere let go of Hicket only to feel Hicket grab his hand and walk closer to him, pulling his head to look at Hicket. “Then celebrate with me, it’s a special day, you should get to feel special.” he smiled and Amphitere bit his lip. “Well, what do you even do for your birthday?” Amphitere asked and Hicket gasped and cupped his face with his hands. How could Amph not know what to do on a birthday? Then it looks like it was up to him to make sure his boyfriend had the best day ever.  
“I’m going to show you everything I can.” he whispered and Amphitere just said “Okay?”   
Over the rest of the day Hicket took Amphitere to some of his favorite stores and Hicket bought Amphitere anything that he seemed to really like despite Amphitere’s protesting. Hicket made sure to get Amph some presents and even though he could have sworn he only brought 100 dollars he found more money in his pocket? That was all good because that just meant he could spoil Amph with the extra money he found.  
Hicket ended up taking him to a nearby restaurant for lunch where Hicket secretly told the staff it was Amphitere’s birthday. Near the end of their meal multiple people came out clapping and whistling and sang Amphitere happy birthday and gave him a bowl of ice cream and a piece of cake which he shared with Hicket. Hicket asked to take some photos while it was all going on and that night Amphitere ended up in Hicket’s room again, kissing into the night until they both fell asleep on Hicket’s bed.   
Hicket opened his eyes and stared down at Amph. He brushed some hair out of his face and kissed his cheek before snuggling closer and whispering “Happy Birthday Amphitere...I love you.”


	14. October 31st

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, just a heads up there will be mention of implied rape rape in the chapter. I put a TW warning that you can skip if you want and a TW over so you can read the last bit. Moving forward the next few chapters will be dealing with the after math but I will put TW when that occurs! As always enjoy the update!

“I said something appropriate.” Ci’erce said, dressed in her Chel costume, despite her words. She kept her coat tightly pulled around herself due to the cold, but it didn’t do much to hide her bare legs.   
“It is appropriate, for the occasion!” Amphitere smirked, holding his arms out. He was coat-less for the look, or so he told Hicket when he tried to get a coat on him before leaving to pick up Ci’erce. “You have the assets for it, you’ll look great!”   
“We aren’t even going to begin to discuss my assets.” She said all the while Hicket was smiling to himself as his friend's antics. Hicket, whose face was as red as his billowing shirt mostly due to the cold and… well, Ci’erce looked really, really good in the Chel costume.   
“Don’t worry, just have some fun! And if you want to go home at any point, just let me know!” Hicket finally said, opening the door for the three of them politely. Amphitere followed Ci’erce into the mouth of the large house.  
The smell of alcohol and weed was a thick fog filling his nose as soon as they walked in. Everywhere someone had a drink in their hand and their bodies were pressed closely together. Ci’erce and Hicket put their coats on the rack near the door among the hundred other coats and jackets. The music was loud enough one had to either shout, or talk directly into someone’s ear in order to be heard.  
“I’ll get us some drinks!” Hicket shouted, “I know, just a water for you! I’ll be right back!” he added when Ci’erce began to open her mouth. Ci’erce just didn’t seem the type to want to under age drink and Hicket had mad respect for that. Hicket had pushed his way into the kitchen and grabbed an empty red cup and two beers. He filled the red cup with water from the sink but when he turned around he accidently bumped into someone. “Oh gosh, I'm sorry man I didn’t mean to hit you.” Then he looked up and saw someone in a dragon onesie, it was Griv from his football team. “Hey Drakeheart. It’s cool man accidents happen. I didn’t know you were gonna be here tonight. One could even say I was too hot to handle” before chuckling at his own joke. Hicket laughed and refilled the cup of water. “Sorry dude I hate to douse you and run but I gotta get back to my friends but we should hang out sometime outside of school though.”   
“Oh for sure, Don’t get too messed up now ya hear!” He shouted as Hicket left the kitchen and back to Ci’erce and Amph. He saw them where he left them and walked up and handed them their drinks. “Two drinks and a water, just as requested!” Hicket wasn’t sure what he walked back in on but this was a party and they should be having fun! He took Amph by the hand pulling him onto the dance floor and swaying him around. Amphitere glanced to Ci’erce, and Hicket waved her over, but she just waved back like she was fine on her own.  
Hicket couldn’t say that he wasn’t disappointed she said no but at least he had one person willing to dance with him! He smiled down at Amph taking a few drinks of beer every so often while on the other hand Amph was drinking every couple of seconds.   
It didn’t take Amphitere long to get drunk, dizzy, and to find someone to drag a few hits off. Wherever he found an abandoned blunt, he took it and smoked it. Laughing when Hicket told him to take it easy. “Babe, this is taking it easy.” Hicket was a bit concerned at how fast Amph was getting drunk and was a bit worried. Amphitere smirked. “You gotta relax.” Amphitere smirked, taking Hicket’s drink from him and downing it. 

TW: IMPLIED RAPE MENTION SKIP 

“I’m gonna get you some water.” Hicket finally said. “Stay here.”  
Hicket once again pushed through the mass of people to the kitchen where this time he saw Griv dancing on the counter top spraying beer on some poor fellow next to him. “Drakeheart! You came back for more huh? It’s all cool man, lots of booze to go around.” Griv slurred together. Hicket shook his head. “Naw man, I’m gonna have to pass. My boy...uh my friend Amph needs some water. So I’m just gonna grab that and go. Plus there is way more dancing to be had!” Hicket couldn’t find any more cups but was able to find a bottle of water in the fridge. “Hey! Hey Drakeheart… Amphs the gothic blackhaired kid right? The one you made out with under the bleachers, right?” Hicket kinda wanted to bang his head against a wall but nodded and replied with a yea. “Well… It looks like he’s leaving.” Hicket couldn’t see over all the people but was a bit concerned. He had the water in one hand and pushed his way through the people. Amph wasn’t anywhere to be seen, and for that matter neither was Ci’erce. She was gone and Hicket tried to find her. Maybe she knows where Amph is… maybe they are together? Maybe Amph was being nice and walked Ci’erce out?  
Hicket looked outside but didn’t see them anywhere. He started getting a bit panicked and decided to check the rooms, maybe he was just tired. Surely Amph wouldn’t just leave him there….right? Hicket then heard something coming from a room toward the end of the hall and walked inside only to find Amph with a guy from his football team, John? But...his face went pale and his eyes went wide.   
“Amph?”  
Hicket saw Amph eyes snapped open, looking from his spot on the bed. He couldn’t breathe, he needed to go, he needed to leave. Hicket dropped the water bottle and ran as fast as he could. He didn’t care who he ran into and the whole house felt too small. He wasn’t in the right state of mind and even though he drove there he just kept running. 

TW OVER

He ran all the way home. Hickets ma and da were out of town that weekend and Elspet and Gilroy went with them. Hicket opened the door to the house and slammed the door and slid down to the floor. He couldn’t hold it anymore and broke down. How come the people he loved hurt him the most?


	15. November 1st

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A heads up, I know next to nothing on the military so if stuff is a bit off...eh, this is an alternate world lol. As alsways enjoy the update! Next chapter coming out right afterwards!

Hicket barely had the strength to remove himself from the doorway last night. He wasn’t sure how he made it to bed or when. His head was pounding as he groaned and pulled the covers over his head. His chest hurt the worst on top of everything. He picked up his phone and saw it was 9 in the morning, much later than he usually got up for his chores. He let out an even louder groan and rolled out of bed not bothering to change out of last night's clothes for chores. At this point he didn’t care if they got ruined. As he trudged down the stairs to put on his boots he heard a noise from the kitchen. His only thought was what if it was Amph? What would he say? What would he do?  
He slowly creeped to the wall to poke his head around the corner. Well it wasn’t Amph but instead a tall man with blonde hair with a flat top haircut in an army uniform. “Conall? Is that you?” Conall was the fourth oldest sibling Hicket had and he was stationed in Korea...Why was he here? “Well look who decided to wake up this morning? Hi champ. Have a seat. I'm almost done making breakfast, we can catch up.” Hicket could finally smell the bacon frying and what distinctly smelled like biscuits. “Conall, why are you here? I thought you were overseas?”  
“Well I was but I got leave. I think they were downsizing the base and I was closest to going home. I’m not complaining, though.”  
“That’s nice, I’m really happy to see you. I missed you a lot.” Hicket kept staring at the table then noticed as a plate was placed in front of him. “So… Whats up?”  
Conall asked placing a hand on Hickets back. Hicket didn’t want to talk about it just yet so opted instead to stuff some bacon in his mouth. Conall had a soft smile and sat next to him at the table. “Whenever you're ready, I’m staying for a few days.” That did peak Hickets interest. “That’s right, how did you know we moved?”  
“Well, ma and da write from time to time and included the address. I took some extra time to get back to Texas so I could stop by and check the place out. It was supposed to be a surprise but I was surprised to only find you.”   
“Uh yea, the fam is out for the weekend but they’ll be home tomorrow. They’ll love to see you.” The rest of the meal was Hicket talking about sports and school but he didn’t bring up his friends, not yet. Conall looked over at Hicket and gently fist bumped his shoulder. “Get changed, we are going for a drive. No buts, except your butt in the front seat of that hand-me-down car got it? And I’m driving.” Conall chuckled and took Hickets empty plate and washed it off. Hicket liked the company but kinda wanted to be alone and wallow but Conall was the kind of guy to drag you out of the house. So he did what was asked and met him in the car. Hicket didn’t speak and just looked out the window at the passing houses and cars. Conall glanced over to his brother and cleared his throat. “Ma and Da picked out a nice town. Definitely bigger than our hometown. That’s for pure certainty...you’ve been here for a few months now… got your eye on anyone?” Hickets eyes started to water and he tried to turn farther from his brother so if he did cry he hopefully wouldn’t see him. “Probably not anymore.” He sniffled.   
“Aw bud come on, it can’t be that bad, what happened?”   
“Nothing”  
“Hicket”  
“Aw c’mon Conall, leave it alone.” Hicket whined.  
“Why so you can let it fester and eat you alive? Hicket, you’ll feel better letting it out. Keeping it all locked away is only gonna hurt you and the people you care about. You don’t have to go into details just give me the rundown.”   
Hicket sighed and wiped his eyes as tears started to fall. “I...I uh...got a boyfriend… I...he… he cheated on me and I caught him…” Hickets tears flowed down his face. “I really cared about him Conall, I care more about him than I ever did with Lilly Ann and then, then, he…” He felt the sting in his chest before too much as Conall found a nice spot out of the way to give them privacy and parked the car. “I’m so sorry that happened to you Hicket. It’s never a good day when you find out something like that. Have you two talked since then?”   
Hicket shook his head no. “I sent out a text making sure everyone got home but, but no one answered…” Conall let out a series of hmms pondering what to say next. “Hicket, if I could I’d take this pain from you but festering in it like you do won’t help. My suggestion is to work through your feelings. In a way, you’re grieving. Work through the grief so when you see your boyfriend tomorrow at school you can talk then or whenever you're ready. Just let him know that you need time if you choose to talk later.” Hicket sniffled and the tears kept flowing down his face. “C-c-can we go home please?” Hicket whimpered and Conall nodded.   
The drive back was quiet and when they got out of the car Conall came up and hugged Hicket. He rocked him a lot like their mother used to when they were children. Hicket buried his head into Conalls chest. “It’ll be ok Hicket, what’s meant to be will be. Just have some faith, kay?” Hicket nodded and just felt exhausted. “How about this?” Conall started “We go inside and I kick your butt at some video games and we order pizza and ice cream for lunch? My treat.” Hicket put on a small smile and nodded. That sounded nice and he’d do what he could to ignore fire burning inside.


	16. November 2nd

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Rape mention at the end

Hicket took what Conall had said to heart and really tried hard to work through the feelings he was having. It almost felt like beating a dead horse. When he walked into school Monday morning he felt very incontrol of his emotions...until he saw Amph. He made it his personal mission to avoid him until he legit couldn’t anymore. He just wasn’t ready and if Hicket spoke to him now, he’d probably cry.   
Of course that time of not being able to avoid him came as the school day ended and tutoring came. He was the last one to enter the library and the air was so thick with tension you could cut it with a knife. He sat down in his usual spot and pulled out a worksheet. If Ci’erce asked him a question he really only half heard her and gave her some kind of half assed answer. She really couldn’t have bothered to text him back to let him know she was ok so, I guess he was also a bit upset with her as well. She must have lost interest in him and moved to try to get an answer out of Amph instead.  
“Amph, did you finish the worksheet from Friday?”  
Hicket didn’t look up still staring blankly at the paper in front of him. It sounded like Amph was either writing or making lines on a paper, but Hicket really had no idea. Amph never did respond to Ci’erce.  
“I’ll take that as a no.” Ci’erce said, it felt rather cold and distant.  
“I was busy.” Amphitere finally mumbled, Busy...busy!? That’s what he called it? “Busy.” Hicket finally huffed, no longer able to keep his anger hidden. He looked up glaring daggers in Amphiteres direction. Amphithere then looked up glancing at him but really more of a glare, almost equally enraged it felt. Hicket continued “Yeah. You really looked busy at the party this weekend.”   
It was so silent you could have heard a pin drop on to the carpeted floor below them. When Hicket and Amphitere locked eyes it felt like everything around seemed to be melting into lava. Hot and unforgiving. Then Ci’erce tried to cool things off before the two got out of hand.  
“Um, maybe we should get back to-”   
Amphitere slammed his hands on the table before Ci’erce could finish.  
“Don’t just assume that you know what you’re talking about, Drakeheart.” Amph fumed. It really only seemed to add coals to the fire that Hicket so desperately tried to rake out the day before.   
“Yeah, well it seemed like a pretty straightforward thing to me.” Hicket stood up so fast his chair tipped over and slammed onto the floor. “Guys, calm do-” Ci’erce started.  
“Stay out of this, princess.” Amphitere snapped, Hicket could take Amphiteres rage all day long but Ci’erce didn’t do anything, she wasn’t a part of this. So Hicket jumped to her defense, “Hey, don’t take it out on her because you can’t keep it in your p-”   
“I’m done.” Amphitere finally said shoving himself from the table before turning and running out of the library.   
Hicket watched as Amph ran out of the library and it was like his anger left with him. Now all he was left with was this empty pit of anguish. Part of him still wanted to be angry and stay but the other wanted to chase him and ask why. He then felt a hand touch him and he looked down to where Ci’erce was sitting   
“I think...that you should go after him.” She said softly, eyes softening as Hicket looked down at her. His lips pressed into a thin line, before he pushed off of the table and ran out of the doors after Amph. He hoped he hadn’t left the school grounds. If anything the words of Conall rang in his ears “Work through the grief so when you see your boyfriend tomorrow at school you can talk then or whenever you're ready.”  
He ran down the hall till he could hear some sniffling and quite sobs coming from around the corner. Then he saw his boyfriend looking so fragile that just one more wrong look and he could shatter.  
“...Amph?” Hickets soft voice broke the otherwise silent air. Amphitere wiped at his face with his sleeves. He looked as though he was trying to stop now that he knew Hicket was there.  
Hicket could tell that the air was still tense but he no longer held all the anger he had before. Now all that was there was sadness. He just wanted answers. He was quite for a moment before he finally spoke. “I...I deserve an explanation.” While he looked down at Amphitere. Amphitere was busy looking at the floor. “Why...I just...I thought we were good. Why...why did you do that?” Hicket continued, pressing Amph. Amphitere squeezed his eyes shut, biting down on his lip still refusing to answer him. Hicket was about to break down but continued with the thought that always seemed to come up in the last two relationships he’d been in.  
“Is it...was I not good enough for you?” Hicket’s voice was soft, defeated.  
“No!” Amphitere finally blurted out. “God, no, that’s not…that’s not it at all.”  
“Then why? I deserve an answer, Amph.”  
Amphitere paused, then finally rose his blood shot eyes up to look at Hicket. Hicket’s image reflected in his dark brown and red eyes, like glass marbles. “...one of the guys from your team...approached me.” he started to explain while Hicket listened closely. “...he…” Amphitere had trouble getting the next words out.  
“Amph, what did he do?” Hicket asked, more urgency in his voice.  
“....he told me he’d hurt you and Ci’erce if I didn’t play along.” Amphitere muttered finally.  
All Hicket could see was red. There was a silence, then a loud bam as Hicket punched a dent in the locker. “That motherfucker.” Hicket said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “God, Amph, I’m sorry. I should’ve done something, I just, I saw you there and with him and I assumed--God, I should’ve pulled you off him, I should’ve punched him, I should’ve done something, I--”  
Amphitere lurched forward and wrapped his arms around Hicket’s neck. “It’s not your fault.” Amphitere’s voice cracked in Hicket’s ear. “I’m sorry, I...I was so drunk, it was my fault.”  
Hicket pulled Amphitere off him and for a second and he just held Amphitere by the shoulders and looked into his eyes, their faces inches away. “Amph, do not say that. It was not your fault, it will never be your fault for what he did to you. Even if he threatened you, or me, or Ci’erce, that’s not consent. That’s blackmail, that’s rape that’s, that’s…” Hicket stopped afraid to continue, mad at himself for leaving Amph like that when he needed him. Hicket didn’t know what to do next other than to take Amph into his chest and just held him. He held Amph with such a tenderness making sure not to hold too tight. He slowly brought Amph down to the floor and felt a wetness on his chest. They sat there for a while, eventually laying down on the cold floor as Hicket held Amphitere and Amphitere sobbed, keeping his face buried in Hicket’s chest.  
“Why don’t you hate me?” Amphitere asked finally. “I deserve it.”  
“No, you don’t.” Hicket said, pulling Amphitere’s face to look at him. “You didn’t deserve this, Amph. I...I love you, Amphitere, and I’m not gonna let him get away with this.”


	17. November 1st

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW Rape mentions from last chapter. Hicket doesn't know what happened but get ready for sad boi. Also I know nothing how the army works sooooo I just wrote it how I wrote it lol.... enjoy! Another chapter right after this!

Hicket barely had the strength to remove himself from the doorway last night. He wasn’t sure how he made it to bed or when. His head was pounding as he groaned and pulled the covers over his head. His chest hurt the worst on top of everything. He picked up his phone and saw it was 9 in the morning, much later than he usually got up for his chores. He let out an even louder groan and rolled out of bed not bothering to change out of last night's clothes for chores. At this point he didn’t care if they got ruined. As he trudged down the stairs to put on his boots he heard a noise from the kitchen. His only thought was what if it was Amph? What would he say? What would he do?  
He slowly creeped to the wall to poke his head around the corner. Well it wasn’t Amph but instead a tall man with blonde hair with a flat top haircut in an army uniform. “Conall? Is that you?” Conall was the fourth oldest sibling Hicket had and he was stationed in Korea...Why was he here? “Well look who decided to wake up this morning? Hi champ. Have a seat. I'm almost done making breakfast, we can catch up.” Hicket could finally smell the bacon frying and what distinctly smelled like biscuits. “Conall, why are you here? I thought you were overseas?”  
“Well I was but I got leave. I think they were downsizing the base and I was closest to going home. I’m not complaining, though.”  
“That’s nice, I’m really happy to see you. I missed you a lot.” Hicket kept staring at the table then noticed as a plate was placed in front of him. “So… Whats up?”  
Conall asked placing a hand on Hickets back. Hicket didn’t want to talk about it just yet so opted instead to stuff some bacon in his mouth. Conall had a soft smile and sat next to him at the table. “Whenever you're ready, I’m staying for a few days.” That did peak Hickets interest. “That’s right, how did you know we moved?”  
“Well, ma and da write from time to time and included the address. I took some extra time to get back to Texas so I could stop by and check the place out. It was supposed to be a surprise but I was surprised to only find you.”  
“Uh yea, the fam is out for the weekend but they’ll be home tomorrow. They’ll love to see you.” The rest of the meal was Hicket talking about sports and school but he didn’t bring up his friends, not yet. Conall looked over at Hicket and gently fist bumped his shoulder. “Get changed, we are going for a drive. No buts, except your butt in the front seat of that hand-me-down car got it? And I’m driving.” Conall chuckled and took Hickets empty plate and washed it off. Hicket liked the company but kinda wanted to be alone and wallow but Conall was the kind of guy to drag you out of the house. So he did what was asked and met him in the car. Hicket didn’t speak and just looked out the window at the passing houses and cars. Conall glanced over to his brother and cleared his throat. “Ma and Da picked out a nice town. Definitely bigger than our hometown. That’s for pure certainty...you’ve been here for a few months now… got your eye on anyone?” Hickets eyes started to water and he tried to turn farther from his brother so if he did cry he hopefully wouldn’t see him. “Probably not anymore.” He sniffled.  
“Aw bud come on, it can’t be that bad, what happened?”  
“Nothing”  
“Hicket”  
“Aw c’mon Conall, leave it alone.” Hicket whined.  
“Why so you can let it fester and eat you alive? Hicket, you’ll feel better letting it out. Keeping it all locked away is only gonna hurt you and the people you care about. You don’t have to go into details just give me the rundown.”  
Hicket sighed and wiped his eyes as tears started to fall. “I...I uh...got a boyfriend… I...he… he cheated on me and I caught him…” Hickets tears flowed down his face. “I really cared about him Conall, I care more about him than I ever did with Lilly Ann and then, then, he…” He felt the sting in his chest before too much as Conall found a nice spot out of the way to give them privacy and parked the car. “I’m so sorry that happened to you Hicket. It’s never a good day when you find out something like that. Have you two talked since then?”  
Hicket shook his head no. “I sent out a text making sure everyone got home but, but no one answered…” Conall let out a series of hmms pondering what to say next. “Hicket, if I could I’d take this pain from you but festering in it like you do won’t help. My suggestion is to work through your feelings. In a way, you’re grieving. Work through the grief so when you see your boyfriend tomorrow at school you can talk then or whenever you're ready. Just let him know that you need time if you choose to talk later.” Hicket sniffled and the tears kept flowing down his face. “C-c-can we go home please?” Hicket whimpered and Conall nodded.  
The drive back was quiet and when they got out of the car Conall came up and hugged Hicket. He rocked him a lot like their mother used to when they were children. Hicket buried his head into Conalls chest. “It’ll be ok Hicket, what’s meant to be will be. Just have some faith, kay?” Hicket nodded and just felt exhausted. “How about this?” Conall started “We go inside and I kick your butt at some video games and we order pizza and ice cream for lunch? My treat.” Hicket put on a small smile and nodded. That sounded nice and he’d do what he could to ignore fire burning inside.


	18. November 2nd

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW:Rape mention, Hicket learns the truth

Hicket took what Conall had said to heart and really tried hard to work through the feelings he was having. It almost felt like beating a dead horse. When he walked into school Monday morning he felt very incontrol of his emotions...until he saw Amph. He made it his personal mission to avoid him until he legit couldn’t anymore. He just wasn’t ready and if Hicket spoke to him now, he’d probably cry.   
Of course that time of not being able to avoid him came as the school day ended and tutoring came. He was the last one to enter the library and the air was so thick with tension you could cut it with a knife. He sat down in his usual spot and pulled out a worksheet. If Ci’erce asked him a question he really only half heard her and gave her some kind of half assed answer. She really couldn’t have bothered to text him back to let him know she was ok so, I guess he was also a bit upset with her as well. She must have lost interest in him and moved to try to get an answer out of Amph instead.  
“Amph, did you finish the worksheet from Friday?”  
Hicket didn’t look up still staring blankly at the paper in front of him. It sounded like Amph was either writing or making lines on a paper, but Hicket really had no idea. Amph never did respond to Ci’erce.  
“I’ll take that as a no.” Ci’erce said, it felt rather cold and distant.  
“I was busy.” Amphitere finally mumbled, Busy...busy!? That’s what he called it? “Busy.” Hicket finally huffed, no longer able to keep his anger hidden. He looked up glaring daggers in Amphiteres direction. Amphithere then looked up glancing at him but really more of a glare, almost equally enraged it felt. Hicket continued “Yeah. You really looked busy at the party this weekend.”   
It was so silent you could have heard a pin drop on to the carpeted floor below them. When Hicket and Amphitere locked eyes it felt like everything around seemed to be melting into lava. Hot and unforgiving. Then Ci’erce tried to cool things off before the two got out of hand.  
“Um, maybe we should get back to-”   
Amphitere slammed his hands on the table before Ci’erce could finish.  
“Don’t just assume that you know what you’re talking about, Drakeheart.” Amph fumed. It really only seemed to add coals to the fire that Hicket so desperately tried to rake out the day before.   
“Yeah, well it seemed like a pretty straightforward thing to me.” Hicket stood up so fast his chair tipped over and slammed onto the floor. “Guys, calm do-” Ci’erce started.  
“Stay out of this, princess.” Amphitere snapped, Hicket could take Amphiteres rage all day long but Ci’erce didn’t do anything, she wasn’t a part of this. So Hicket jumped to her defense, “Hey, don’t take it out on her because you can’t keep it in your p-”   
“I’m done.” Amphitere finally said shoving himself from the table before turning and running out of the library.   
Hicket watched as Amph ran out of the library and it was like his anger left with him. Now all he was left with was this empty pit of anguish. Part of him still wanted to be angry and stay but the other wanted to chase him and ask why. He then felt a hand touch him and he looked down to where Ci’erce was sitting   
“I think...that you should go after him.” She said softly, eyes softening as Hicket looked down at her. His lips pressed into a thin line, before he pushed off of the table and ran out of the doors after Amph. He hoped he hadn’t left the school grounds. If anything the words of Conall rang in his ears “Work through the grief so when you see your boyfriend tomorrow at school you can talk then or whenever you're ready.”  
He ran down the hall till he could hear some sniffling and quite sobs coming from around the corner. Then he saw his boyfriend looking so fragile that just one more wrong look and he could shatter.  
“...Amph?” Hickets soft voice broke the otherwise silent air. Amphitere wiped at his face with his sleeves. He looked as though he was trying to stop now that he knew Hicket was there.  
Hicket could tell that the air was still tense but he no longer held all the anger he had before. Now all that was there was sadness. He just wanted answers. He was quite for a moment before he finally spoke. “I...I deserve an explanation.” While he looked down at Amphitere. Amphitere was busy looking at the floor. “Why...I just...I thought we were good. Why...why did you do that?” Hicket continued, pressing Amph. Amphitere squeezed his eyes shut, biting down on his lip still refusing to answer him. Hicket was about to break down but continued with the thought that always seemed to come up in the last two relationships he’d been in.  
“Is it...was I not good enough for you?” Hicket’s voice was soft, defeated.  
“No!” Amphitere finally blurted out. “God, no, that’s not…that’s not it at all.”  
“Then why? I deserve an answer, Amph.”  
Amphitere paused, then finally rose his blood shot eyes up to look at Hicket. Hicket’s image reflected in his dark brown and red eyes, like glass marbles. “...one of the guys from your team...approached me.” he started to explain while Hicket listened closely. “...he…” Amphitere had trouble getting the next words out.  
“Amph, what did he do?” Hicket asked, more urgency in his voice.  
“....he told me he’d hurt you and Ci’erce if I didn’t play along.” Amphitere muttered finally.  
All Hicket could see was red. There was a silence, then a loud bam as Hicket punched a dent in the locker. “That motherfucker.” Hicket said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “God, Amph, I’m sorry. I should’ve done something, I just, I saw you there and with him and I assumed--God, I should’ve pulled you off him, I should’ve punched him, I should’ve done something, I--”  
Amphitere lurched forward and wrapped his arms around Hicket’s neck. “It’s not your fault.” Amphitere’s voice cracked in Hicket’s ear. “I’m sorry, I...I was so drunk, it was my fault.”  
Hicket pulled Amphitere off him and for a second and he just held Amphitere by the shoulders and looked into his eyes, their faces inches away. “Amph, do not say that. It was not your fault, it will never be your fault for what he did to you. Even if he threatened you, or me, or Ci’erce, that’s not consent. That’s blackmail, that’s rape that’s, that’s…” Hicket stopped afraid to continue, mad at himself for leaving Amph like that when he needed him. Hicket didn’t know what to do next other than to take Amph into his chest and just held him. He held Amph with such a tenderness making sure not to hold too tight. He slowly brought Amph down to the floor and felt a wetness on his chest. They sat there for a while, eventually laying down on the cold floor as Hicket held Amphitere and Amphitere sobbed, keeping his face buried in Hicket’s chest.  
“Why don’t you hate me?” Amphitere asked finally. “I deserve it.”  
“No, you don’t.” Hicket said, pulling Amphitere’s face to look at him. “You didn’t deserve this, Amph. I...I love you, Amphitere, and I’m not gonna let him get away with this.”


	19. November 3rd

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not uploading in a few days, had some life stuff come up but with out further a due here we go! TW kinda rape mention in the last sentence. More just a reference to it, but I wanted to put that there just in case

After being outed from his carelessness at homecoming and being outed by some unknown student, Hicket was slowly learning to be more comfortable with his sexuality and who he was. He used to be ashamed of that but Amph really helped with that and after everything that's happened he was glad his confidence had risen. He walked into school Tuesday and Griv had pulled him aside and told him about the story going around school. Griv wasn’t sure who it was on the team but said he'd look into it. Hicket nodded and went off to find Amph, lord knows he’d need someone there to have his back. No one should have to deal with this kind of shit on their own.   
Hicket saw Amph by his locker looking tense and uneasy, no doubt he noticed and or heard the whispers. Hicket approached him and touched him gently as not to startle him, “Hey, Amph.” Hicket took Amphitere by the hand, pulled him close, and kissed him on the forehead. “I was waiting for you.” he said loudly, then leaned down and whispered “Want me to walk you to class?”  
Amphitere nodded, squeezing Hicket’s hand. He wanted them to be like the other couples in school and to show those who wanted to gossip that he’d be there for Amph. Hicket held Amphiteres hand and smiled warmly. He wouldn’t let him or the school know how much he was low key panicking on the inside. There were so many unanswered questions but right now, Amph needed him to be strong. He’d like to see anyone try to get in his way right now because he was not in the mood to be his usual Mr. Nice guy.  
Hicket lead Amphitere down the hallway to his locker, keeping him close and letting Amphitere cling to him as they walked. Hicket squeezed Amphs hand when he saw Ci’erce. She hadn’t said anything after he had left but she seemed to be in deep conversation with Micah and some of Micahs friends. Hicket couldn’t hear what was being said, but then out of nowhere Ci’erce leaped and decked Micah’s friend’s nose with her fist.  
“Holy shit.” Amphitere said as Hicket noticed that amph was just as fixed on the scene as he was. That's our girl Hicket thought, a small smile painted on his lips. Whatever Micahs friend said probably had to do with Amph. Micah pulled Ci’erce off his friend quickly and dragged her away. In that moment all the attention on Amphitere and Hicket left them and was focused on whatever happened. Amphitere and Hicket exchanged a look, then Hicket grabbed Amph and took him safely to his locker while everyone was distracted. “What do you think that was about?” Hicket asked trying to see of AMph might have guessed what he thought, looking at Amphitere with wide eyes. “I’ve never seen Ci’erce do that, or anything near that. I can’t even believe that just happened. I’m not dreaming right? Pinch me.” Hicket said and Amphitere smirked, pinching Hicket’s nipple through his shirt, causing Hicket’s face to turn bright red and slapped Amph’s hand away.   
“What? You said ‘pinch me’.” Amphitere said, doing quotations with one hand as he opened up his locker.   
“I, well, yes, but--but--” Hicket stammered.   
“I’m just messing with you babe, I won’t do it again.” Amphitere said, leaning up and kissing Hicket on the cheek,“Unless you liked it?” Amphitere quickly joked and Hicket shook his head. “Wow. Wow. Okay. You know I could just leave you, right?” Hicket said.  
“Mm, yeah, but I don’t think you will at this point.” Amphitere said, a small genuine, thankful smile on the corner of his lips.  
“Well...you got me there.” Hicket said, giving Amphitere a soft look. Amph looked like he was finished getting stuff from his locker and Hicket placed his arm around Amphs shoulder as they walked to class. People still gave them looks, snickered, talked among themselves, and gave Amphitere specifically certain looks or gestures. But a look from Hicket tended to shut some of them down.   
Hicket did all that he could that day to make sure Amph had a good and safe day. He’d keep doing this until Amph felt like he didn’t have to have him around anymore. If he ever finds out who hurt Amphitere, he’s gonna have hell to pay.


	20. November 10th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Rape mention, Hey guys! I might switch my posting schedule to once or twice a week just because my work schedule is changing and a lot is going on right now but I will try to keep you in the loop as much as I can! As always enjoy the new chapter! :D

For the most part things had… for lack of a better term...simmered down a lot from where things had been earlier in the week. People were talking less and less about what happened which made Hicket happy for Amphs sake. Of course his anger only rose when Amph had told him about some guys from his team harassing him. He was pissed and wanted to go have a “talk” with them but restrained himself only because Amph had asked him too. These city boys probably don’t know the first thing about how to fight. Everyone just assumed that he was just a muscle head but having a shit ton of older brothers you learn a thing or two.  
Amph seemed in better spirits. He’d started to do these little half smiles when he thought no one was looking, or he’d brush his hand against Hickets and it absolutely made his heart melt. Hicket had driven Amph to what he started to call “their special spot” which was just this overlook of the town not far from Amph told him how he could be upset with him. If he finds the fucker who hurt him… He’d better watch his back.  
Hicket had also taken notice that Ci’erce had a brace on, probability after decking that guy the other day. He wasn’t sure if it was her schedule or her hand but sometimes they didn’t have tutoring so Hicket and Amphitere would go to Hickets house. After the first few times Amphitere seemed to stick around Hicket more and more, not that he was complaining. It was nice. They felt like a proper couple. Amph seemed a bit awkward around his folks still but his Da wasn’t around too much because of work and his mother was a nosy rosie and wanted to learn more about Amph. Hicket thought it was very cute. Even his siblings who had met Amph seemed to really like him.  
Ci’erce, since the party and especially since the nose incident, had become more distant. Amphitere and Hicket had both tried to invite her out a couple times, but she always blew them off. Saying she had plans with Micah, or had homework to do, or something else she kept as vague as the existence of aliens.  
Amphitere and Hicket had spent a lot of time talking when they were alone together. Mostly about what to do, how to get some sense of justice. Amphitere wanted revenge, and internally Hicket did too but because Amph had asked to to stand down he just wanted to lie in wait for the culprit to come out of the woodworks. Griv had started to help him dwindle down the team on who was there and they got it down to at least five guys. There was just a small problem.  
Amphitere had washed away all evidence, He had mentioned this during one of their talks and so with the evidence gone...there wasn’t much the court was going to do...which was bullshit.  
After school Hicket had practice like normal. One would almost call it a routine day, till someone pissed coach off and he made them run laps. Hicket wasn’t the fastest guy on the team and in actuality he was quite slow. He had the muscle and the strength but not the endurance. Once he was on his final lap he saw Amph by himself next to the bleachers looking very uncomfortable. Then he noticed that some of the guys got a little too close for comfort but left when Amph ignored them. That was of course...till John came up to him. They looked to be having a conversation with Amph looking more and more pissed off. John was on his and Grivs list...was it this fucker? Hicket had finished his lap but kept running to the locker room. If he hurried he would be able to get Amph out of here. Hicket didn’t bother to shower, he could just do that at home. He was only able to get his pants and shoes on when he heard loud noises from the hall and he rushed out to see what was happening. “Amph!” he shouted as he saw John with Amphitere against the locker. John turned his head to look at Hicket, and Amphitere glanced at Hicket, then in that moment he took the small window and raised his elbow up, slamming it down into John’s arm and breaking it with a sickening crack.  
“FUCK! SHIT! YOU SON OF A BITCH!” John cursed loudly, Amphitere then grabbed his broken arm and used it to pull him into the locker and slam him into it. He then grabbed John by his hair and started slamming his head into the locker over and over. “This is what you get you fucking rapist!” Amphitere yelled at him and only stopped when Hicket pulled him off. Hicket could have watched this forever but someone for sure would return with a teacher and the last thing Amph needed was to kill this guy. Even if it was what he deserved.  
John slid to the floor, holding his nose which was clearly broken. Amphitere was kicking as Hicket held him, and slammed his foot into John’s jaw, feeling it hit solidly and giving way as he broke John’s jaw. “ ‘uck! ‘Ou ‘uckin’ psycho!” John yelled, holding his face as he stood up and ran out the double doors down the hall.  
Hicket finally let go of Amphitere and Amphitere leaned on his knees to catch his breath. “Fuck...god….fuck.” Amphitere said, not sure why he was cursing other than to let the rest of his anger out. “I was gonna kill him!” he said.  
“I know.” Hicket said, “That’s why I stopped you! Ugh...Amph, your nose. I think it’s broken.” Hicket noted, motioning to Amphitere’s face. Amphitere reached up to touch it and reeling back in pain. “Fuck...I can’t go to the hospital like this.” he noted.  
Hicket sighed, letting a breath out, hands on his hips. “Yeah...but there is somewhere else we can go.” he noted, and Amphitere gave him a confused look.

Amphitere knocked on the door of Ci’erce’s house and they waited. Then he rang the doorbell, remembering only now how late it was. She was probably asleep. “Maybe we should--”  
Amphitere stopped as the door opened, and Ci’erce stood there. “My nose is bleeding.” was all Amphitere said to her. Hicket could almost laugh at how blunt it was if not for the look on Ci’erces face. Ci’erce just nodded, dumbstruck it seemed, as she moved out of the way to let them in and closed the door behind them. Hicket and Amphitere took their shoes off and left them next to the door before going into the kitchen where Amphitere sat on a stool at the bar and Hicket standing behind him rubbing his back soothingly.  
“Why is your nose bleeding?” Ci’erce asked, hands on her hips, and looking tired and probably mildly irritated.  
Amphitere and Hicket exchanged a silent look as they tried to decide whether or not to tell her, then “Never mind. I don’t need to know. Just...Hicket, make some coffee please. I’ll be right back.”  
Amphitere sat there and Hicket made some coffee and Ci’erce went to get the first aid kit. After a couple minutes, coffee was made and Ci’erce was back. “Hold this against your nose.” she ordered as she handed Amphitere a cloth with ice cubes in it. Amphitere did as he was told and pressed the cold object to his throbbing face.  
Hicket walked up to Ci’erce and handed her a mug of coffee. “Uh, thanks.” she said, taking it and beginning to sip her coffee to help her wake up. Hicket went back to hovering at Amphitere’s shoulder, now giving off a strong worried vibe. He had really thought of trying to talk him into going to the hospital but they’d want answers and he didn’t want Amph to get into trouble.  
Amph broke the silence with “So are your parents alright with you having two rowdy boys in your house?” trying to break up the awkward tension in the room. Giving Ci’erce the best smile he could with ice against his face. “I’d love to meet whoever is responsible for passing on those pretty grey eyes.” Hicket let out a soft chuckle at his boyfriend.  
“Amph.” she warned him, moving the ice cubes away and starting to put rubbing alcohol on his cuts. Amphitere hissed between his teeth and dug his nails into his pants. “They’re out of town this week, so lucky for you they’ll never know.”  
“Isn’t it a bit scary staying here all alone?” Hicket asked.  
Ci’erce shrugged, “I have a big family so I’m never really alone...I guess the privacy is nice, right?”  
Everyone went quiet for a second as she glanced at Hicket, and then back to Amphitere. Hicket was a bit thrown off by the look she gave him. It looked kinda...lonely with a mix of how dare you say you have privacy. He was sure he was just reading into it and just stopped talking...it was probably for the best. He should really learn when to shut his gob.  
“We could have been robbers.” Amphitere started to joke. “You gotta be more careful.” he added, wiggling his eyebrows at her.  
“Funny that you’re telling me to be careful when I’m bandaging you up.” Ci’erce’s wit was sharp as ever. Amphitere heard Hicket let out a laugh. “Seriously, though. What happened? And why’d you come here instead of the hospital?”  
Amphitere bit his lip, looking to Hicket with apprehension. The way Amph looked at was almost pleading for him to save him, so Hicket took the charge.  
“It started at the party…” Hicket started, and began explaining what happened over the last week. Amphitere looked down at the floor as Ci’erce worked on his face. Hicket’s voice filled the room for the next half hour as he explained everything that happened to her. After it was all over, Ci’erce pulled back and began pacing around the kitchen. “I’ll call my family’s lawyer in the morning.” she finally announced.  
“Tell me the asshole’s name and he’ll be arrested on sexual assault charges by lunch tomorrow.” she added, staring out the window over the kitchen sink into the dark night.  
“We don’t have any evidence outside of my word.” Amphitere said quietly, shaking his head. “Plus I, ah...well, he won’t be bothering anyone for a while. I’m pretty sure that his jaw is broken. And maybe his arm.”  
Ci’erce looked at Amphitere, and he couldn’t meet her eyes. Hicket put his hand on Amphitere’s shoulder, giving him a squeeze. “Well...at least stay the night.” Ci’erce finally sighed, “I have a guest room downstairs you can stay in. Just don’t make a mess.” she said, sticking her finger out at Amphitere in mock-seriousness before cracking a smile at him.  
“Thanks, Ci’erce.” he said. Ci’erce then led them downstairs, showed them to the room and showed them the bathroom and where to find towels and such. After that she went upstairs. Hicket took the time to examine the room. It was a lot like his Memaws ranch in Texas but prettier. Hicket was already striping down to his boxers when he half heard Amph thank Ci’erce and got into bed. Amphitere then into bed next to Hicket. “Thanks,” Amph said as he got comfortable in bed.  
“Of course, Amph.” Hicket said, cuddling closer next to Amphitere, careful not to hit his nose. They both laid on their sides, looking at each other. “It’s weird being here again.” Amphitere admitted. “She’s been so busy lately, you know?”  
“Yeah.” Hicket agreed. They fell quiet again. “Hicket.” Amphitere finally said. “If this...gets worse. Don’t defend me, okay? Don’t even admit you were there.”  
“What?” Hicket sat up. He was...very confused by what Amph was asking. “Why?”  
“Because, I don’t want you to get in trouble.” Amphitere said, sitting up. “You could get suspended, or expelled, or lose your opportunity to get into sports, or do prison time.” he pointed out. “If that happend to me...I don’t think I’d care, but, I couldn’t….I couldn’t bear it if you go through that because of me.” Amphitere admitted.  
Hicket went quiet, then shook his head “I...I won’t make that promise to you.”  
“But--”  
“Amph, if he does try something, I should say something. It might help your case. I won’t be quiet again, I won’t run away, not like last time. I can’t...I can’t risk doing that to you again.” Hicket said.  
Amphitere sighed, then laid down again, “...I know I can’t force you. But let me handle it first at least, ok?” he asked.  
“..fine.” Hicket agreed reluctantly. “But if it gets really bad, I’m gonna be a witness for you. You don’t deserve having your life screwed up because of him.” Hicket said, gagging. Amphitere let out a chuckle. “Okay, alright, fine.” he agreed. “Good night.” he said, closing his eyes.  
“Good night, Amph.” Hicket said, and he leaned in and kissed Amphiteres cheek before wrapping his arms around him. “I love you.” he added before drifting off into sleep.


	21. November 25th [Thanksgiving]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have a bit of a time skip! Time for family time and with family time comes drama! hehehe

Hicket’s whole family met up back in Texas at his Memaw's house. It was tradition and the ranch certainly had enough rooms. Plus Hicket’s old house was on the property. He really didn’t have any interest in going to look at it. Apparently his Mewmaw had let one of his cousins and his family live there after they moved away. His Memaw was this short bony woman. Though she looked frail she was anything but. She had once ran their family's food company as the CEO, raised three boys and ran a whole farm. The woman had power and really wasn’t afraid to flaunt it. When the five Drakhearts had first arrived, all of Hicket’s siblings who had moved away were already waiting for them.   
So now here on Thanksgiving Hicket was kicked out of the house by his mother and aunts so they could cook supper and he went to his old hang out at his Memaws goose pond. He wasn’t paying attention when a few bodies came and sat beside him. “Dude you look so glum, lighten up my mans” then the man punched Hickets shoulder.   
“Fraiser! Dude that hurt, geez.” Hicket whined then rubbed his shoulder.  
“What?! It’s good for your health. Builds character.” Fraiser laughed and threw a rock into the pond.  
“Heekay I hope you don’t mind but I kinda shared what happened with the guys… I hope you won’t be to cross with me?” Conall added on the other side of Hicket. With a family this large keeping secrets was almost damn near impossible and he learned long ago if you do want something secret...don’t say it.   
“It’s alright. We’re good now....turns out um… This asshat on my team took advantage of him while he was drunk and now the whole school knows and all I did was run… I still feel kinda bad about it…” Hicket trailed off for a moment and just stared ahead at some geese swimming.   
Fraiser gave Hicket a weird look and then bluntly asked “So did you kick the fuckers teeth in?”  
Hicket laughed a bit and shook his head. “Naw I didn’t but I think Amphitere might have. I think from what it looked like he broke his jaw and maybe his arm? It was a bloody mess… don’t tell Ma or Da...please”   
“C’mon I’ve done worse things in my day but I get you have a boyfriend now but have some honor and at least castrate that little bitch. I know you know how.” Fraiser added.  
“Fraiser! Don’t condone violence with him geez, at least act like your our older brother.” Conall reprimanded him, shaking his head in disapproval.   
“God you're no fun, Conall. Now, this Amphitere, he kid sounds like a hoot. I’ll have to stop by and meet him, I’ll bring Aila too. She's been dying to stop by and see the new house.” Aila and Fraiser are Hicket’s mothers first set of twins and the second oldest siblings. Aila was first then Fraiser. Hicket laughed as his two brothers went at it a little longer before he chimed in. “I told him I loved him...do you guys think that was too soon? He hasn’t said it back yet but...This feels so real. Like I worked through my thoughts like you told me to Conall and… I just have this feeling I can only describe as love.” Hicket blushed the whole time spilling his guts to his brothers as they looked at one another then to Hicket. Fraiser took one of Hicket’s hands and smiled gently. “Dude, that’s awesome and I’m so happy for you. If he hasn’t asked you not to say it then I think you’re good. Respect his space and he’ll say it when he’s ready. Now show me pictures c’mon I wanna see the guy who's got my little bro in a tizzy.”   
Hicket laughed and went through and showed Conall and Fraiser a ton of pictures of Amph and himself that he’d taken and even a few of Ci’erce in the mix. Soon enough his aunt Mary had rung the dinner bell and the young men rushed inside to be with the family. They had set up a spread out in the kitchen with enough food to feed an army… which to be fair the Drakeheart’s kinda were. Between Hicket’s family of eleven people, his uncle Finnagan’s family of eight and his other uncle's family of five there were twenty five people altogether. It was pure chaos. It was youngest to oldest and Hicket was close to the bottom. Sadly none of the cousins or his siblings had married yet so he was like third from last. Though it was worth the wait. Once he was seated at the “younger family” table he felt a buzzing in his pocket. He looked and saw Amph had texted him. He smiled happily and almost wanted to kick himself for not sending him one sooner. 

A: [Happy Thanksgiving 🦃🦃🦃 ]  
H:[Happy Thanksgiving!! Miss you!! ❤️ ]

Then sent a selfie with Elspet and Gilroy with the family in the back. After dinner was cleaned up and dishes washed and put away, Hicket had found his way to the couch while most of the children had either run off to their rooms or left the adults to their own devices. His Ma and Da were in the other room with his Memaw and aunts and uncles chatting away about what was happening in their lives. Hicket then heard his Memaw ask “So, Brodie… How’s… Hicket? After that little… incident with that hussy of his I thought I’d never clean up that mess.” Hicket felt like he was gonna throw up and part of him wanted to leave but he also wanted to stay. Before he could make a choice his da answered his mother.   
“Ma, He’s fine. Hicket wasn’t the one to make that mess and you know this. You didn’t have to involve yourself in the matter.” His voice comforted Hicket but then she added on more salt “Well, I did. Good thing I did too. I could never show my face at bridge club again. Us having a queer boy in the family, how tragic.” Hicket hadn’t even realized he was crying till he felt the tears drip into his ear. He then heard a chair shoot back and heard his mother click her teeth at his memaw and with the grace of a lady she hissed “There is nothing wrong with my boy for the way he is. You, Abilene wouldn’t know your ass from a hole in the ground. That’s your grandson, MY son and what’s tragic is how you’re talking about him!”   
Hicket didn’t stay to hear the rest of the fight. He rushed out of the house and started running down the long driveway heading to town. He finally stopped running when he felt like he couldn’t breath. He was too busy trying to catch his breath; he didn’t notice the red pick up truck stop beside him.  
A deep voice almost rivaling his fathers spoke to him "Hicket, what are you doing out here?".   
“Fergus! I um, I, I...” Hicket couldn’t find the words to tell him why he was out here alone. Fergus was the oldest sibling Hicket had and he must have had something to do in town. Fergus pulled the truck up and over and exited the car. He put the tailgate down and sat down motioning for Hicket to do the same.   
“What happened?” Hicket whipped his eyes and sat next to his oldest brother. He leaned his head against him and whimpered “Memaws at it again. She’s ashamed of me. She didn’t even care to say how she felt without at least seeing if I was there.” He all but cried as Fergus placed a caring arm around him. Fergus made Hicket look up and spoke with a thick scottish accent “She’s a cunt Heekay. Pay er no mind. Keep yer heid. If she knows you’ll get upset she’ll only do it more.” He paused for a moment and smiled “To put it kindly I wouldnae ride her in tae battle” before laughing at his own insult of her. Hicket wasn’t an overly hard person to cheer up and he started to laugh along. “Being back here just...brings back all the bad… Thanks for sitting with me Fergus.” Hicket made a move to get up but Fergus held his arm. “Ye willnae get off dis truck. Ye coming wit me. We’ll git a room in town and I’ll text Ma and Da.” Hicket was excited to not have to go back tonight and hopped off in to the passenger side and waited for his brother to take him away.


End file.
